Railroad-tie.



- No. 722,200. PATENTED lMAB.. 10,` 1903.

I'. H. ALFRED 6u P. GHIPMAN'.

vRAILROAD TIE.

APPLIUATION FILED nu 9, 1902.

EETS-SHIBET 1".-

VW/ TNE SSE S A TTOHNE Y No. 722,200. PATBNTBII MAR. 10, 1003. P. II.ALFRED 0 P. CHI-PMAN.

`RAILROAD TIE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. 1000.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" i Y I A Tron/ve ys.

man Simms .-1 OFFICE.

FRANK HOOKER ALFRED AND PAUL CHIPMAN, 0F SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

RAILROAD-weft@ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o.722,200, dated March 10, 1903.

Application iiled May 9, 1902. Serial No. 106,527. (N0 model.)

To a/ZZ wiz/0m t may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK HOOKER AL- FRED and PAUL CHIPMAN, citizens ofthel United States, and residents ot' Saginaw, in the county of Saginawand State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Railroad- Tie,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedrailroad-tie which is simple and durable in construction, cheap tomanufacture, designed as a substitute for the wooden and all-metallicties now in use, and arranged to combine concrete with metal to producea tie in such a manner that the tensile strains on the tie are mostlyborne by the metal,while the compressive strains are taken up by theconcrete to secure the greatest strength.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations ofthe same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointedout in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specitication, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the tie, showing the rails in place.Fig. 2 is a plan view ot the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of thesaine on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is an enlarged cross-section ofthe same on the line et 4 of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a sectional sideelevation of the same on the line 5 5 of Fig. et. Fig. 6 is au enlargedplan View of the fastening-plate and bolt for fastening the rail inplace on the tie. Fig. 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, of amodified form of the tie. Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the same on theline S 8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a similar View of the same on the line 9 9of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a sectional side elevation of the improvementpartly in elevation and showing a modified form of the fastening devicefor holding the rail in place on the tie. Fig. 11 is a side elevation ofthe middle portion of a tie of modified form. Fig. 12 is a transversesection of the saine on the line 12 12 of Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a sideelevation, partly in section, of another modified form of theimprovement; and Fig. 14 is a sectional side elevation ot' anothermodified form of the improvement.

The railroad-tie consists, essentially, of a body A, made of concrete,and a metallic reinforce, preferably in the shape ot' one or more bars BB, embedded lengthwise in the concrete body A, as plainly illustrated inthe drawings. The concrete body A consists of a base A and a web A2,preferably arched at the middle top portion, as plainly indicated inFig. 1, and the bottom of the base A is formed with recesses A3 forreceiving part of the ballast of the road-bed, so as to prevent shiftingof the tie on the bed. The web A2 is provided with tapering sides, asplainly indicatedlin Fig. 3, and with bearing portions A'L near the endsof the body, the said bearing portions being flush ou the sides With thesides of the base, (see Fig. 4,) and overthe bearing portions extend therails C, between the bases of which and the bearing portions A4 areinterposed cushions in the form of wooden blocks D and tie-plates DQmade of metal, each ot' the said cushions being set in a recess A5,formed in the top of the bearing portion A4.

In order to fasten the rails in position on the cushions to hold thelatter against Inovement on the bearing portions A4, We providefastening-plates E, resting on top of the tieplates D and extending overthe top portions of the bases of the rails C, each fasteningplate Ebeing engaged by the head of a bolt F, extending downward through thefastening-plateE, the tie-plate D', the wooden block D, and through astirrup G, embedded in the concrete material forming the bearing portionA, as Will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 11 and 5, accessbeing had to the stirrup for placing the nut of the bolt in position bya suitable opening A, formed in the concrete material and extending toone side of the bearing portion. (See Fig. 4E.)

The head of each bolt F extends with its lower portion into a pentagonalrecess E, formed in the top of the corresponding fastening-plate E, andin a corner of this recess E is fitted a lock-plate H in the shape of anequilateral triangle, the sides of which correspond to adjacent sides ofthe recess E', the base of the triangle abutting against one side of thesquare head of the bolt F, so as to pren vent the latter from turningafter the locking-plate H is introduced in one of the corners of therecess E. (See Fig. 6.) It is understood that the nut in the opening Aand engaging the stirrup Gr is prevented from turning by fitting againstthe sides of the stirrup, so that when the bolt F is rmly screwed intoplace and the locking-plate H is inserted as described then the boltcannot jar loose, and consequently the several partsthat is, thefastening-plate E and the cushion D-are securely held in place to holdthe rails C in position on the cushions and the latter in position onthe bearing portions A4.

It is understood that by the peculiar arrangement ot' the recess E', thehead of the bolt F, and the locking-plate H the bolt can be securelylocked in the position it is in when screwed up, as the locking-plate Hcan be inserted into that corner of the recess E having a side of thebolt-head in corresponding position to the corner.

As indicated in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, and 5, we employ two long bars B anda'short bar B as the metallic reinforce for the concrete body A, and thesaid long bars B are arched at the middle and are spaced apart andextend with their ends under and beyond the bearing portions Al, so thatthe tensile strains to whichl the tie is subjected are mostly taken upby the metal reinforce, while the compression strains are mostlyborne'by the'concrete body A. We do not, however, limit ourselves to thepeculiar arrangement of the metallic reinforce, as a single bar B2 may,for instance, be employed, as shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, and made inthe shape of a fiat bar arched at the middle portion and then given aquarter-twist, so that the end portions of the flat bar extendvertically through the bearing Y portions A4 and into the ends of thebody, as

plainly indicated in Fig. 7.

The base A of the concrete body A may be varied and provided, forinstance, with a downwardlyextended portion A7 at or near the middlethereof, as plainly indicated in Figs. l1 and l2, to decrease thebearingsurface under the middle of the tie to pre- Vent what is known ascenter binding of the track. The portion A7 engages the ballast of theroad-bed to prevent shifting of the tie in any direction.

The fastening device for holding a rail C to a cushion may also bevaried. For instance, as shown in Fig. lO, ordinary rail-spikes I areemployed, engaging with their heads the rail-base and being driventhrough apertures in the tie-plate D' and wooden blockD down into woodenplugs J, enlarged at their lower or base ends and embedded in theconcrete material of which the bearing portion A4 is formed. Thus when acushion is in position on a bearing portion A4 and a rail is placed onthe said cushion then the rail can be spiked down onto the cushion bydriving the spikes I through the plate D and block D into the plugs J.

The wooden plug J, being largest at the bottom, prevents pulling out ofthe plug from the concrete material. When it becomes necessary to removea plug J and replace it by a new one, then a cylindrical plug J of Woodis employed and split at one end to rel material to hold the plate K inposition.

The heads of the bolts F abut against tl1e' under side of the plate Kand extend in recesses formed in the top surface of the concretetie-body, as shown in Fig. 13.

It is understood that the concrete body of the tie is molded in asuitable mold with the metallic reinforce held in position therein, soas to be lengthwise embedded in the concrete body A.

The term concrete is understood to mean a mixture consisting of anaggregate of stone, gravel, sand, or other hard material embedded in amatrix, the cementing element of which is cement, lime, or othercohesive substance.

I-Iaving thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- 1. A railroad-tie, comprising a concretebodyhaving bearing portions near the ends, a metallic reinforce embeddedlengthwise in the concrete body, and cushions interposed between therails and the said bearing portions, the said cushions comprising ametallic tie-plate and a wooden block superimposed one on the other, asset forth.

2. A railroad-tie, comprising a concrete body having bearing portionsnear the ends, a metallic reinforce embedded lengthwise in the concretebody, and cushions interposed between the rails and the said bearingportions, the said cushions comprising a metallic tie-plate and a woodenblock superimposed one on the other and set in a recess formed in theconcrete body at the bearing portions, as set forth.

3. A railroadtie, comprising a concrete body having bearing portionsnear the ends, a metallic reinforce embedded lengthwise in the concretebody, cushions interposed between the rails and the said bearingportions, the said cushions comprisinga metallic tieplate and a woodenblock superimposed one on the other, and a rail-fastening means forholding the rail in position on the corresponding cushion and the latterin position on the corresponding bearing portion, as set forth.

4. A railroad-tie, comprising a concrete IOO IIO

body having bearing portions near the ends,`

a metallic reinforce embedded lengthwise in the concrete, an attachingdevice embedded in the concrete body at the bearing portion, a cushionheld on the bearing portion for supporting the rail, the said cushionbeing located above the embedded attaching device, and a fasteningdevice for holding the rail to the said cushion, the fastening deviceextending through the cushion and engaging the said embedded attachingdevice, as set forth.

5. A railroad-tie, comprising a concrete body having bearing portionsnear the ends, a metallic reinforce embedded lengthwise in the concrete,an attaching device embedded in the concrete body at the bearingportion, a cushion held on the bearing portion for supporting the rail,and a fastening device for holding the rail to the said cushion,thefastening device engaging the said embedded attaching device, the latterbeing in the form of a stirrup, to which lead openings formedtransversely in the concrete body, as set forth.

6. A railroad -tie, comprising a concrete body having a base, Jtaperingsides, bearing portions near the ends for tbe rails, andlongitudinally-extending recesses formed in the under side of the saidbase, as set forth.

7. A railroad-tie, comprising a concrete body having a base, taperingsides, bearing portions near the ends for the rails,longitudinally-extending recesses formed in the under side of the saidbase, and a downwardlyextending integral portion at the middle of 3 5the base, as set forth.

8. A railroad -tie, comprising a concrete CD n) body having bearingportions for the rails, a metallic reinforce for the same embeddedlengthwise in the concrete body, an attaching device embedded in theconcrete body at the bearing portion, a cushion held on the bearingportion forsupporting the rail,fasten ing-plates engaging the bases ofthe rails, and fastening devices extending through the fastening-platesand the said cushion and engaging the embedded attaching device, as setforth.

9. A railroad-tie, comprising a concrete body having bearing portionsnear the ends, a metallic reinforce embedded lengthwise in the concretebody, an attaching device embedded in the concrete body at the bearingportions, the said concrete body being provided with openings leading tothe said embedded attaching device, a cushion held on the bearingportion for supporting the rail and comprising a metallic tie-plate anda wooden block superimposed one above the other, the said cushion beinglocated above the embedded attaching device, and a fastening device forholding the rail to the cushion, the said fastening device extendingthrough the parts of the cushion and engaging the embedded attachingdevice, as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK HOOKER ALFRED. PAUL CHIPMAN. Witnesses:

A. R. Dnwnns, H. A. CAssIL.

